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Turkish Court Orders Facebook to Block Pages Insulting Mohammad


FILE - A screenshot shows the Facebook "like" icon.
FILE - A screenshot shows the Facebook "like" icon.

A Turkish court has ordered Facebook to block a number of pages deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad, threatening to stop access to the whole social networking site if it does not comply, state broadcaster TRT reported.

The order, made by the court on Sunday, followed a request by a prosecutor, TRT said. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday that Facebook had blocked one page in response to a valid legal request from Turkish authorities.

The court order is the latest move to crack down on material seen as offending religious sensibilities in the largely Muslim nation, where the government of President Tayyip Erdogan is widely seen as pursuing an Islamist-leaning agenda.

Earlier this month, prosecutors launched an inquiry into a newspaper that reprinted parts of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in the wake of an attack by Islamic militants on its offices in Paris.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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